


Blood and Bone

by RabbitFangs0108



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Characters will be added as story continues, Gen, Swearing, Violence later on in the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-27
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-27 04:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/657816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RabbitFangs0108/pseuds/RabbitFangs0108
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Feliciano, the head of the Vargas family, starts to have an interest in a German guy, Lovino decides to check the bastard out and see what makes him so special. Not because he's worried about the German's safety, of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Throughout my life, many regulations and rules have been drilled into my brain. The first rule I remember, though, was when my brother and I were three and our grandpapa was taking care of business. "Once in the family, always in the family," Grandpapa told us as we watched some guy get his brains blown out. Apparently the man had sold family secrets to another family.

Grandpapa and the Vargas family are the only things I've ever known. Feliciano and I never got to know our parents. They "vanished" right after our birth. Grandpapa was the one to raise us.

Well, maybe "raise" isn't exactly the right word…

I always knew that Feliciano was Grandpapa's favorite. The two of them spent most of the days of the week together while they left me behind. There wasn't a time when they went to the park, or out for gelato, or whatever the fuck they went out for. I always had to stay at home with the scary, muscular men with missing fingers or scars while wearing faces that always succeeded in scaring the living shit out of me. Then the times when Grandpapa wasn't with Feliciano he spent "taking care of business".

Heh. I guess that's why I grew up the way I did: bitter and hating the world.

Of course, no matter what happened, I always cared for my baby brother. Bitterly jealous that he got to spend so much time with Grandpapa and that everyone seemed to fucking adore him, but I cared for him nonetheless.

He always had a happy personality to him. Feliciano did his best to cheer people up (even if he acted like a bumbling idiot) and he always smiled. Of course, these characteristics always made him klutzy and oblivious to the world around him. It never mattered to anyone, though. He was the sun to my moon.

Imagine my surprise, though, when the two of us were nineteen years of age and Grandpapa passed away, leaving the family business to Feliciano. I shouldn't have been so shocked, but I was. What the fuck had Grandpapa been thinking? I love my brother, but he's a complete idiot! Definitely not material for heading a mafia!

...Until I saw his amber gaze darken as he watched a man get beaten close death for killing one of our guys. I couldn't hold in the shudder as he walked up to the unfortunate soul and shot him point blank in the head, a satisfied smirk on my baby brother's face. Then I realized that Feliciano wore a mask to hide the monster underneath.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Four years have passed since the death of Grandpapa. Feliciano has been running the business pretty well (and by "pretty well", I mean "everyone is so fucking scared of him that a glance makes them almost shit their pants"), and life is generally good. I volunteered to be one of my brother's bodyguards, and now he takes me almost everywhere with him. No one's messed with us for weeks, the family finances have sky rocketed, and I'm finally spending time with my baby brother.

I'm still miserable, though.

Most times I hate what I do. Most times I want to throttle my brother and ask him why the hell he doesn't just leave the business. Most times I dream of just finally getting out of this hellhole. Then I remember a guy's brains splattering the walls and floor and hear Grandpapa saying, "Once in the family, always in the family." Then I realize how fucked up my life is.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"Ve~ Fratello! Fratello!" my brother shouted. Cheered up upon seeing me, he jumped a great leap and gave me a bear hug.

I internally grimaced. This was one of those rare days when Feliciano would leave me at home. He had only been gone for a few hours, so that didn't give him a good excuse to crush my ribs. "What the hell do you want?" I growled. Let go, let go, letgoletgoletgo…

Feliciano let my attitude fly over his head. He was used to me talking like that. After finally letting me out of his grip, he started to tell his story. "Fratello, I had such a wonderful day! I picked up the money that one Spanish merchant owed me-"

"I can see that," I commented dryly, noticing Feliciano's suit. Ugh. Blood stains were such a bother to try and get out of clothes.

"-and I decided to celebrate by getting some gelato and going to the park Grandpapa always took us to." I mentally corrected him. "Well, I was sitting on a bench just watching everyone have such a happy day when this scary dog rushed over and tried to attack me! Ve~ But then this voice shouted out and the dog stopped its attack and went running away."

With Feliciano, he probably meant that the friendliest dog on the fucking planet probably went up to him to smell the gelato, and the voice was the owner in which the dog obeyed the command and went running back to its master. God, my brother could be an idiot when he wanted to.

"The man was very scary looking," Feliciano continued. "Ve~ But then he apologized for whatever reason and I realized that he wasn't such a bad guy after all." A larger smile (though I don't know how that's possible) appeared on his face, and I swear his whole complexion just lit up like a light bulb. "I decided that, since he's not so bad of a guy, we could become great friends~"

"What?" He frowned as I screeched. "Feliciano, you idiot! You don't even know the bastard and yet you've already decided that he'll become your friend?"

"Ve~ Well, I've got people looking into him." His amber eyes darkened a bit. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yes, I do! Records don't always tell the truth, Feliciano! Hell, we alter ours all the fucking time! Besides, what if he doesn't even want to be friends with you? What-"

An explosion stopped me dead. The wall next to my head now had a hole in it, and Feliciano held a now-smoking gun. My hazel eyes wide, I watched as Feliciano wore that smile. The one that he reserved only for those we consider scum. The crazed smile that released the monster.

"He'll be my friend..." Feliciano then cocked his head slightly to one side, that damned smile still on his face. He then finished that ominous statement. "…whether he likes it, or not."

I paled slightly, knowing what my brother intended. May God look out for the man, I thought as I watched Feliciano place the gun back in its holster, then go about like nothing had happened. Wherever that unfortunate bastard is.


	2. Chapter One

A few weeks had gone by since Feliciano came home and told me of his plans of befriending the mysterious German man. He's actually put gathering information about the unfortunate soul on the top of his priority list. I held my tongue when he made the announcement (although it was pretty damn hard to). Maybe it was due to the fact that Feliciano finally decided to reach outside of the family business and make a (hopefully) normal friend. Maybe it was due to the fact that I had (slowly, painfully slowly) started to give my baby brother my approval. Maybe it was due to the fact that Feliciano made an example of one idiot who decided to ask "why the fuck we decided to gather intelligence on a worthless nobody when we should've been more worried about eliminating that crazy Belarusian lady".

I stared at the new stains on the wall. Well, shit. I had just replaced that wallpaper.

"Does anyone else have any questions?" Feliciano asked sweetly, his amber eyes dark and his gun hand unwavering. (Un)surprisingly no one had any further questions (objections). "Good." He put his gun back in its holder. "Now, here's what I want done…"

O-O-O-O-O-O-O

After the henchmen scampered out of the room, the smile turned back into a genuine one. "Ve~ I get so happy when everyone follows my orders." Feliciano gave the dead man a disgusted look. "Well, almost everyone."

"Dead Guy has a point, though," I spoke with a monotone voice. "If looking into the Natalia case is put down into the number two slot, we should at least send a few spies to check up on her. The Vargas family shouldn't really be caught off guard when she decides to try and kill you."

Amber eyes now closed off to the world, Feliciano jumped and gave me a bear hug. "Ve~ Fratello is so smart!"

"Gah! Get off of me, idiot!" A few more moments passed before I could properly breathe again. I stepped back, scowling as I made sure that my ribs weren't broken. Getting rid of the noticeable wrinkles in my jacket, I glanced up at my brother. "Since the day's just starting, what do you need me to do?"

Frowning a bit, my brother furrowed his brows in thought. Moments later he brightened right back up. "Ve~ I know! Fratello can organize the information already gathered about the nice German man! Then you'll be able to see why I'm so interested in him."

"What?"

Feliciano jumped up and down, clapping his hands together. "Yep! What a wonderful idea!" He started walking away, leaving me a bit confused as to why the hell he decided to give me such a ridiculous job for such a ridiculous reason. "Oh, and could you take out the trash?" he asked. "I really don't like trash just sitting around."

Feliciano then made his exit, the sound of the door resonating throughout the now-quiet room. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing. Then I got out my phone and assigned someone else to take out the body.

Great. Not only did I have to cover up the blood stains on the wall, but now I'd have to replace the carpeting, too.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"Let's see what these idiots have gathered so far," I muttered to myself, sitting at my desk while going through several papers.

My brother, being the oh-so-talented person that he was, drew a face profile of what the man looked like. Of course, Grandpapa taught him to enhance his skills so much.

The pencil only snapped because it was faulty, not because I still felt bitter.

Hmm…According to our people, the man's name was Ludwig…Ludwig…How the fucking hell did he pronounce his last name? Bell…Beel…Bull….Shit. My head made contact with the desk top. Stupid German names. Why couldn't they have names that were easier on the tongue? Like tomato.

Raising my head back up, I continued to flip through the papers. Blonde hair, freaky light blue eyes, could apparently bench press a house or two from the looks of those muscles of his, tall, smart, blah blah blah blah blah.

"I wonder what his job occupation is?" I thought out loud. Going back through the papers, I only found out the address of business and not the type. Stupid intelligence people…

Deciding to take matters into my own hands, I got out of my chair and grabbed the keys sitting near the edge of my desk. Guess I was going to be taking a road trip.


	3. Chapter Two

"You've got to be fucking kidding," I exclaimed rather loudly. In fact, a few people walking down the sidewalk gave me weird looks at my vulgar exclamation. I gave them a glare that easily translated to mind-your-own-fucking-business. My angry gaze got them to walk away as fast as they possibly could from me. Glaring back at my objective, I just couldn't believe my eyes. The intelligence that had already been gathered about this man listed so many positive things. Many good-paying jobs would be available to him, judging from his I.Q. and/or his looks. Maybe the sunlight was messing with my eyes.

My mood continued to deepen into annoyance and disbelief. Looking at the dull, gray building I could easily see that it was a bit run down, but still well-cared for. It definitely was smaller than I had imagined, and the garage appeared to be larger than the office itself. On the side of the building I noticed a white sign with red lettering that said (however the hell the last name is pronounced)'s Auto Repair.

This guy's a mechanic. A mechanic. Sure, it may seem like no big deal, but my brother is the head of a mafia family. I help take care of the finances as well as the insects that seem to never stop buzzing around Feliciano. But this run down building just shows how absolutely normal this man's life has been. He's a normal mechanic doing a normal job.

God, was I jealous. However, I was here only to find out the job occupation. I knew what the man did for a living. Now I only needed to find out the job hours so that Feliciano could conveniently stop by and ask for a service, even though I hated what could happen in the near future.

Stalking up to the door, I squinted to get a better look at the hours. Nine to five on all days except Sunday, which was when the shop was closed. If needing more information, call-

"Excuse me, but would you care to explain why you've been watching my shop for the past twenty minutes?"

I did not jump in the air, and I most definitely did not squeak like a mouse. No one that I knew of could ever accuse me of those actions, and I decided to stick with that story.

Spinning around, I came face-to-face…um, face-to-chest with the owner of the deep voice. Tilting my head up, I got a bit of a shock to see that it was the German man named Ludwig who caught me off guard.

Mr. Ludwig Unpronounceable-German-last-name continued to give me a cool look, his freaky blue eyes glinting like ice. He had crossed his arms across his chest, the black tank top showing off those abnormally large muscles of his. He had his hair slicked back, giving him an orderly appearance. He definitely was as tall as intelligence described him to be, but the military boots he wore added another inch or two.

He reminded me of the scary men from when I was a child.

Trying to put down my surprise and fear, I just decided to scowl at the man. "So, you're the bastard my brother keeps talking about."

He raised an eyebrow, but kept his stern look on. His eyes seemed to be telling me to continue onwards to whatever point I was trying to make.

I continued to scowl, my hazel eyes narrowing. "Listen, Mr. Tall and Studly," I began, poking him in the chest. This action didn't seem to faze him at all. "I don't care what my little brother thinks of you. If you know what's best, you'll stay away from him." I didn't give him time to respond. Instead, I walked around him and stomped back to the car I parked two blocks away. Only when I got inside and closed the door did I give a sigh.

Good idea, I thought. Place the truth inside of a threat. Hopefully this bastard will take my advice and continue to live his normal life. Yeah, right, I scoffed to myself.

No warning from me would ever save this Ludwig guy. Once Feliciano has set his sights on something, he would always forge onward until it was in his grasp. The potato eater had his fate decided the moment he crossed paths with my brother. I had a feeling that Ludwig would inadvertently enter my brother's dark world. Nothing would ever be the same for him again.

With that last thought in mind, I pulled out my cellphone and dialed a familiar number. A static-y "Ve~" greeted me from the other side of the line. "Hello, brother?" I started the conversation, placing the car into gear and driving away from that mechanic's shop. "I've done some more research for you, and this is what I've discovered…"


	4. Chapter Three

Four days passed since my visit to see Mr. German Mechanic. One day I had spent updating the papers to match up the information I gained from going on my little field trip as well as a formal report I needed to give to Feliciano that told all the details of my visit. The other three days I had spent trying (and failing) to convince Feliciano not to go and see the man.

"Ve~ But I have such a wonderful plan to formally introduce myself!"

I spat out a bit of my tomato juice, barely missing Feliciano and that damned grin of his. "You can't be serious," I stammered.

"But it'll work!"

"You plan on demolishing a car before taking it down to that bastard who'll probably tell you that the car is way past dead and could almost be considered as a shambling undead and that there's nothing he can do to fix it. Then he'll probably tell you to have a nice day before gently slamming the door in your face." Wiping up the mess that I made over the table with some napkins, I ended my point by glaring. "He'll probably see through your plan in two seconds."

A piece of curly hair that Feliciano had never been able to style down physically drooped as he became sad. "Ve~ You think he'll get that mad at me?"

Inwardly I snorted. The ever-feared Vargas family head was worried about what a lowly mechanic would think of him. Then I inwardly punched myself. I'm the older brother, dammit! I should be comforting him, no matter how annoyed he was making me with all his insistent talking.

"I might be over exaggerating a bit," I ground out, hoping that Feliciano couldn't hear my teeth rub against each other in irritation. "Seeing as how you're going in as a customer, he might be polite."

That seemed to put Feliciano's god-awful happy idiot face back on. "As always, Big Brother is right. Oh!" he exclaimed, jumping up a bit before placing his attention back onto me. "I just wanted to say that you've done such a wonderful job on researching Ludwig for me."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I muttered, finding my tomato juice the most fascinating thing in the world at that moment.

"Your report matched perfectly to what you told me over the phone. Ve~ I can't believe that you'd spend precious time going down to this address to fill in the gaps!"

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's part of my job you assigned me."

Bouncing a bit in his seat, Feliciano actually looked me in the eyes. Amber eyes glowed with happiness, the shine rivaling only the light of the sun. "So you went down to the shop and check out the hours on the door before coming back?"

"I put it in my report, idiot! What other methods do you know of in which I could fucking look up the hours of a location that only has an address listed?"

Feliciano tilted his head, amber eyes once again hidden behind closed lids. "You didn't do anything else then?"

Staring at Feliciano, I hesitated. I could come clean with him and tell him that I met Mr. Long-last-name before I retreated. However, if I told him that, then I'd have to tell him that I warned the bastard to stay away from Feliciano.

Tell the truth, or keep that piece of information to myself. Either way, I had just officially screwed up.

Hopefully the blonde bastard wouldn't talk to Feliciano long enough to mention that tidbit of information. Going on that line of thinking, I scowled at my brother and growled out a, "That's all I did."

Feliciano clapped his hands. "Ve~ Simply fantastic! Oh!" he exclaimed, looking down at his expensive watch. "I'd better put my plan into action. I just need to call in the tow truck and get dropped off at my 'accident' location." Waving goodbye to me, Feliciano rushed out of the room. I still heard his voice, though, and he called back, "You don't need to worry, fratello! I'll get you a new car!"

That gave me a pause. Realization filled me up. Screeching at the top of my lungs, I shouted, "What the fuck did you do to my Ferrari?"

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"Ve~ How's the situation with Natalia?"

After Feliciano got back from his "date" with the German and explained all that went on during that time (and, although he was only gone for a little more than an hour, he went into a discussion that cost me my car as well as three-and-a-half hours of my life), he called together a short meeting to get an update on the progress of the Natalia case.

"We've followed all of your instructions, sir," one fellow with a goatee announced.

"You'd better have, dipshit," I muttered. The goatee man (whose name I never cared to learn since he's an easily replaceable pawn) only stated one of the dumbest phrases known to every mafia family. There'd better be a damn good reason for not following the instructions from the family head, or else splat! goes the brain matter against the wall.

Feliciano gave me a silencing look before turning his attention back to the hairy-faced man. "Have you found anything out?"

The man shifted in his seat. "Yes and no." After a bit of a pause, Feliciano gave an impatient continue-on wave. "Natalia Arlovskaya has not made any plans towards harming the business. She seems to be focused on another matter."

"And that matter would be…?" Feliciano asked, frustration evident in his voice.

Goatee Man hesitated, and I could smell the fear emanating off of him. "We…don't know as of yet. We should be receiving details sometime during the week."

Feliciano examined the man with scrutiny, making the man even more nervous. Several minutes passed before he finally spoke. "If that report is not on my desk before midnight this Sunday, then you shall find yourself on the receiving end of my wrath."

With those words, the meeting came to a close. The grunts filed out of the room at a quick pace. I rose out of my chair once everyone else had left and I had started walking towards the exit when Feliciano said, "Fratello, could I talk to you for a moment?"

Pausing midstep, I looked back towards my brother. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary with him. His eyes were closed and that idiotic smile remained on his face. Gruffly I said, "Sure. What do you need?"

Feliciano wiggled a finger. "Uh ah ah. Ve~ I don't want to talk in a room as stuffy as this. A walk would help our nerves, si?"

Narrowing my eyebrows together, I squinted at my brother. "…I guess."

Feliciano clapped his hands together. "Ve~ Wonderful! I don't get to spend as much time with my fratello as I used to." With the grace of a dancer, he rose from his own seat at the head of the table and made way for the door. "Fratello, I'm thinking that you should follow a step behind me. Wouldn't want anyone to try and blow my brains out~"

I snorted as I followed Feliciano out of the door. "Who'd be stupid enough to try and kill you in your own house? Even our dumb, ignorant grunts wouldn't even dream about thinking about killing you in your house."

Feliciano gave a giggle, though it sounded a bit weirder than normal. It definitely wasn't his normal giggle. It sounded a bit…forced, I think. A notch lower, too. "Oh, fratello! You're always so funny." He skipped forward, turning a corner. "I wish you'd stop being so mean to the help, though."

Rolling my eyes, I turned the same corner. "Feliciano, I don't care whether it hurts or not. If me being blunt hurts anyone's feelings, then they can go cry in a damn corner for all I care."

"You like telling the truth, don't you fratello?"

I furrowed my eyebrows together. "I don't really care all that much about lying. I'd rather tell the truth and be hated rather than try to play with peoples' feelings."

"But you lie for the business."

Feliciano rounded another corner. I frowned. Where the hell was he taking us? "That's different. I lie in order to protect you from other mafia sharks, the annoying police force, and people who just want to hurt you."

Feliciano had led me down to the end of whatever hallway we had travelled down. He stopped in front of a door. This door was, in fact, the only one down the hallway and also had a poorly lit atmosphere. He turned around and tilted his head slightly, eyes always closed in a dreamy way. "Ve~ Fratello, why don't you go in first?"

My frown deepening, I grabbed the knob. Opening the door, I then entered and looked around. The room was tiny, and the interior lacked in everything. Quickly assessing the place, I noticed that the room held no furniture, one boring overhead light, ugly wallpaper, and…

My body froze at the sight that I saw. Suspicious and hoping to heaven that I was wrong, I crept towards the one corner of the room. My footsteps sounded muffled, but that could only because the only sound that I could register was my heart pumping blood. Reaching the corner I kneeled down and took a closer look.

A chill overtook my body as I confirmed my suspicions. What I saw in the corner was, indeed, blood. A clicking noise behind me raised my horror to a whole new level. Slowly I turned my head around.

Even with the shitty lighting, I could still see the outline of Feliciano against the door. His had just pulled his hand away from a door lock, a key glinting in the dim light. Placing the key in one of his pockets, he continued to face the door. "So, Lovino…" Feliciano started, voice low and slightly filled with malice. He finally turned to face me, his amber eyes a dark color. He gave me the grin, the monster grin that he revealed only to those unworthy of life. "…if you don't like lying, why did you lie to me about your visit with Ludwig?"


	5. Chapter Four

"Well Lovino?" Feliciano took a few steps forward, his eyes becoming more malicious with each new step. "Why did you lie to me?"

I gulped, then tried to put on a bravado by scowling and narrowing my eyes. "Feliciano, what-"

A gun shot resonated in that tiny room, making the sound louder than usual. Pain radiated from my shoulder, and I couldn't mistaken the warmth that started to flood down my arm.

My hazel eyes wide with disbelief, I lifted my unhurt right arm and used it to try and slow down the bleeding. Hissing in pain at the contact my hand made, I stared at my brother with a teary gaze.

I swallowed and tried to get a few words out of my mouth, but I couldn't speak due to the shock that I've just been fucking shot by my own. Fucking. Brother.

My brother pocketed the gun back into its holster, never taking his eyes off of me. It looked as though he wanted me to speak, but only to his questions.

Feliciano's always had the gift of knowing when someone was bull shitting him. He also had the curse of impatience for someone to get down to the point. Those features are what usually helped the Vargas family. Right now, though, those features of his were helping screw me straight down to my grave.

Feliciano gave a humorless chuckle. "Maybe that expression you're currently giving me is an expression of forgetfulness?" I closed my mouth, thus ending my fish-out-of-fucking-water look. Feliciano then tilted his head, that curl of his bobbing with the movement. He still wore that creepy-assed smile of his. "Fratello, surely you remember that I talked to you earlier today about making my plan as well as the conversation that followed as soon as I got back?"

I gripped onto my shoulder tighter, desperate to stop my precious life essence from exiting my body. The blood I couldn't stop continued to leak out, dripping down my useless arm and onto the floor, joining the older blood specks from the past unfortunates.

However, I couldn't help flashing back to earlier…

O-O-O-O-O-O-O

I had been resting my head against the coolness of my desk top, taking deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm down. Resting in front of me were photos of my Ferrari that followed up with Feliciano's plan. Apparently, some dumbass thought it'd be funny to show me what, exactly, had been done to my beautiful car. Said dumbass had then been sent to the hospital due to some heavy object coming into contact with his head. Who knew?

"Ve~ Fratello! I'm back!"

My heart had thudded in my chest, dreading my brother's return. Did Mr. Studly blab about what I did?

I didn't have too much time to worry about it, for Feliciano had then entered the room, a smile on his face. "Ah! Fratello! There you are!" He bounced right on in, taking a space in one of my chairs. He had given me a curious look upon actually observing that my head had been resting on my desk. "Ve~ What are you doing?"

"What does it seem like I'm doing?" I snapped. "I'm mourning the loss of my beautiful Ferrari." I had groaned, allowing my head to fall back down onto the desk top. 

"Don't worry fratello!" he had stated, causing me to give him my full attention. "I said that I'd get you another car, and I always tell the truth." He had then given me a funny look, and his next sentence had been hesitant. "We always tell each other the truth, don't we fratello?" Wringing his hands, Feliciano had looked like an uncertain child. "I mean, we only lie if we're protecting the Vargas family. We don't lie intentionally except with that factor, do we brother?"

"Yeah, sure," I had muttered.

"And we haven't lied to each other recently, have we?"

I had blinked, remembering that I never mentioned me meeting the German man and that I also told Feliciano that nothing else had happened. Maybe Feliciano wanted some "reassurance".

"No, Feliciano," I had responded. "We haven't lied to each other recently.

He hadn't said anything after that. He might have had a look of hurt on his face, but if he did I had never noticed. "Ve~ Okay then!" He had then scooted the chair he sat in closer to me, excitement shining in his eyes. "Let me tell you what we did…"

O-O-O-O-O-O-O

No, I remembered everything perfectly. He talked about his "date" for three-and-a-half hours after that little scene. Nothing would ever make me forget that stupid conversation.

Wait, Lovino. You're currently trapped in a tiny room with an enraged Italian brother/mob boss, bleeding from the shoulder. Focus!

"Of course I remember the conversation," I snapped, my voice weaker than normal.

Feliciano's eyes flashed with anger and hurt. "So you admit lying to me." It wasn't a question.

"I didn't have any reason to bring it up."

Feliciano snarled, closing the distance between us. He grabbed the collar of my shirt, using superhuman strength to lift me up from the floor and slam me into the wall. "You didn't have any reason to bring it up?" he snarled, eyes shining. "You lied to me on purpose, asshole!"

I flinched, both from the contact my head made with the wall and the language that my brother was using. He rarely swore, which only made this situation all the more worse. He wasn't mad. He wasn't furious. He was pissed.

Unshed tears filled up in his eyes, and his top lip slightly wavered. "I know that you don't like Ludwig all that much, and that you expressed your worry but…" His voice quieted down, and his amber eyes widened before narrowing in hatred. "…I see," he stated, speaking in a monotone voice. "You warned him to stay away because you didn't want him to be my friend." He then snarled and shook me hard, causing the back of my head to keep connecting with the wall. He punctuated each wall whack with an Italian curse, and each whack gained intensity.

At the rate we're going, I'd reconnect with Grandpapa before the hour would be done. I needed to think of a good excuse, and I needed to think of it now.

With a calm voice, I said to my angry little brother, "You seem to think that I did this in order to warn him away from you, correct?"

The whacks and the shaking stopped for the time being, and Feliciano looked at me with bloodshot eyes. When had those unshed tears fallen? I idly thought. "You are right," I continued, talking as if we were discussing the weather. "I don't like him, and I did warn him. However," I swallowed, hoping that Feliciano would buy my next statement, "I didn't warn him to stay away from you. I warned him to take care of you and not cause you harm, or else he'd have to face me."

The only noise that could be heard in that room was the blood that still continued to bleed out of my shoulder and onto the floor. Feliciano and I stared at each other, Feliciano blinking several times. Finally, finally, Feliciano closed his eyes and replaced his monster face with his actual happiness face. "Ve~ I should've known better than to jump to conclusions!" He placed me back on my feet before giving me a bear hug. "Fratello is the best! Only thinking about me and my feelings."

"It's my job," I mumble, fighting to keep my eyes open. My knees buckled, and I crumpled to the floor.

Feliciano grabbed me, my sudden dead weight causing him to fall to the floor with me. His eyes opened as he remembered the damage that he caused me. "Ve~ You're hurt!" He took out his cell phone, calling up whatever henchman and doctor that he had access to. "Don't worry fratello!" He said, eyes closed again and a smile on his face. "I'll get you feeling better real soon!" I didn't give any response as I heard Feliciano's voice give orders to whoever was on the other side of the phone line. My body shook from exhaustion, pain, and relief.

I did it. I was able to cover up my reason on why I warned the mechanic man. I prayed to God that he wouldn't ever find out that I lied to him again. I'm pretty sure that, next time, I'll become one of those nameless guys that gets his brains blown out all over the wall.


	6. Chapter Five

I don't know how the hell I survived that evening with all that had happened or how long I had been out of it. The next time I opened my eyes, though, I was in a bed, arm in a sling and bandages wrapped around my head like in those dumb American cartoons. Feliciano was sitting beside me.

"Ve~ Fratello, you're awake!" he exclaimed, noticing me fidgeting in the bed. Feliciano jumped out of his seat and gave me a hug.

Said hug crammed my bad shoulder between his body and mine.

"Chigi!" I yelped, trying to push Feliciano away from me. "Get off of me, you idiot!"

He complied, frowning as I cradled my left shoulder. "…You're bleeding."

I glanced at my shoulder, the bullet hole having reopened from the hug. "No shit Sherlock," I growled, watching as the once pristine bandage became red.

A sniffle. Then another. Then a whimper.

I froze. Ohshitohshitohshit, I thought, frantic . I hoped that the noise being made wasn't what I suspected it to be. I chanced looking at Feliciano, then almost automatically blanched.

Feliciano was looking at me, amber eyes glistening with tears. Some tears escaped his grasp and slide down his cheek.

No. No. Nononononono. Crying, wailing Feliciano was almost as bad as angry, killer mob-boss Feliciano. I had to calm him down before-

Fuck. Too late. Feliciano started sobbing, the tears falling down his face like Niagara Falls. He placed his palms over his eyes, giving the impression of an upset, overgrown child.

"This is my fault!" he bawled as he continued to sob. "If I hadn't jumped to such conclusions, fratello wouldn't be here!"

What joy. Now I get to play damage control. "Feli-" I started out saying only to get interrupted.

"Don't you start!" I snapped my mouth shut at the tone in his voice. He just entered into one of his psychotic mental breakdown moods, although I preferred this version to the demonic "I'm-gonna-kill-you-and-odds-are-it'll-be-a-slow-and-painful-death" one since this version has never gone out to kill or severely mangle anyone. He wasn't going to let me get a word in edgewise. "Grandpapa always said that I always had a habit of jumping to conclusions. That habit almost killed you."

I had to force my hand to stop trembling. "Feliciano, 'almost' doesn't mean that you succeeded. " Though he came damn near close, I thought as the events replayed back in my mind. Granted, it was due to my stupidity that I had lied to my brother in the first place, and I'll be guaranteed a horrible death if he ever found out that he was right in his assumptions and I did try warn his "new best friend" away, but what he doesn't know will come to bite me in the ass anyway.

Okay, Lovino. Snap out of it. Comfort crying brother first. Worry about consequences later.

Lifting my right hand I used it to pat Feliciano's head. I had to be careful with what came out of my mouth. "Didn't you say that Grandpapa told you to trust your instincts? Well, you knew that I withheld some information from you." Now it was time to throw in a bit of truth. "This was just as much my fault as it was yours. So quit blaming yourself…idiot," I threw in at the last minute to try and give Feliciano some semblance of normalcy in this situation.

The stream of tears had faded away during my talk, and Feliciano stared at me with innocent amber eyes. "You forgive me then?"

Internally I winced. I knew I wasn't being fair with making Feliciano feel guilty about the whole thing, but I needed him to stay oblivious. "I forgive you. I hope you forgive me in the case that I might be a bit uneasy for a while."

Feliciano's now-closed eyes teared up, but out of happiness. "Ve~ Fratello, I'm so happy!" He rushed forward and gave me another hug, but I ignored the pain that bloomed out of my shoulder. He then scrambled out of the chair and towards the door. "I'll go and find you a doctor, okay? You need someone to look at that shoulder of yours." The last thing I heard from my brother for a while was, "With the way everything's going, the future is bound to get better!" He then hummed some pasta song under his breath as I heard his shoes click against the floor.

I continued to stare out the door that Feliciano ran out of. "Yeah," I murmureds. "Everything's only bound to get better after this."

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

A concussion, a laceration to the back of my head, and a bullet wound to my shoulder. The doctor listed everything I had received from Feliciano as he stitched my shoulder back up. His tone of voice as he listed the wounds was as if he were talking about the weather and not the fact that I had almost died. The blood loss alone should've done me in, but I'm stubborn like that. It'll take more than a hit to the head and a bullet to kill me off.

I remained in that hospital for another three days after waking up. I would've scratched and clawed and screamed obscenities at the doctor like I usually do (actually, I did), but Feliciano had asked me if I would be willing to stay in the hospital bed for more observation. "Fratello deserves all the rest he can get," Feliciano had stated, that damn, innocent smile plastered on his face. A bit of guilt had shown up in his features.

Naturally there was no way that I could say, "Fuck off, bastard," and then show off my favorite bird to the occupants of the room. If it had just been the doctor decreeing it, I wouldn't have had any problem. However, it was Feliciano asking me.

"Yeah, sure," I had grumbled, huffing in anger. Damn. I hated hospitals, and I hated Feliciano's puppy face.

So, here I was, three days later, roaming the hallways of the mansion Feliciano had inherited from Grandpapa. (No surprise there. I inherited nothing except responsibility.) Feliciano didn't want me to overexert myself until my shoulder healed up enough, so he assigned me to do absolutely no work.

I still had no idea where my almost tomb was located at in this house.

Grumbling under my breath, I walked around a corner and almost ran into some idiot carting a large item. "Idiot!" I snapped. "Watch where you're walking, bastard!"

"S-sorry sir," the lower life stuttered. He acted nervous, giving me a signal that he was a new member of the happy Vargas family. He kept shuffling from foot to foot while glancing from the floor to my angry face, then down towards the empty hallway, and then to the lump on the cart wrapped up in black before repeating the eye exercise all over again.

I wrinkled up my nose at the sight of both the inexperienced lackey as well as the item on the cart. I could recognize a lump like that any day. "Who kicked the bucket?" I asked, not all that interested in knowing, but needing to ask anyway.

The lackey looked down at the body bag. "Um…"

"Answering sometime this millennia would be nice," I stated, getting tired from waiting for a response.

He gulped. "I-I don't know who he was, but I heard that he…hit his head and fell down the stairs. But I think tha-don't touch that!" he squeaked once I stepped forward and grabbed the zipper with my available hand. He shut up as soon as he saw my nasty look and didn't speak as I dragged the zipper down to the chest.

I kept a blank face, almost instantly recognizing the corpse. He used to be the man with the goatee, the one in charge of finding out what matter Natalia was so focused on. Now that I thought about it, I realized that it was Sunday afternoon. Feliciano demanded the findings be on his desk that morning before midnight. Guess he failed to comply, judging from the crushed-in skull and beaten facial appearance. All I could see at the moment was…

"What an idiot," I remarked, zipping the bag back up. This place lost interest in me, so I started to walk in the opposite direction that the body was going.

"Sir, aren't you curious as to find out the truth behind this matter?" I couldn't see him, but I could hear the frown in his voice.

"If you want to live, boy, you shouldn't go around questioning how everything works," I threw back at him as I walked, not even bothering to turn my head around. I rounded the corner and listened to the cart wheel off. Once I was certain that the kid had gone, my legs gave out from under me and I slid down the wall and onto the floor.

I never really saw the man in the body bag. All I could imagine was me being carted off in a body bag similar to the goatee guys'. I had been so close to that fate. I shuddered, not wanting to think about the what-ifs. I should've just brushed the incident off and left it in the past.

I stayed near that wall for the rest of the day, unable to shake myself out of my near-death stupor.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"Pathetic."

All the minions flinched around the table upon hearing Feliciano utter that one word. Feliciano decided to hold a meeting the night after the body bag incident to discuss a problem that he had noticed. His amber eyes were dark, his posture was tense, and the anger radiating off my brother was easy to pick up on.

I knew then and there that Feliciano was not happy.

"Last time I was promised a full report on the findings of whatever it is that Natalia's been obsessing over." Feliciano leaned forward in his seat, resting his chin on top of his hands. "I don't like broken promises, gentlemen."

One man started to stutter. "But, sir-"

"Shut up," I interrupted, giving the man one of my deadliest glares. I probably would've looked more intimidating if not for the fact that one of my arms was in a sling, the bandages that were still wrapped around my head, and the fact that I had dark circles under my eyes due to lack of sleep caused by the injuries I sustained. "You idiots messed up, so you don't get a say."

Feliciano gave me a nod. "When I said that I wanted that report, I meant it." His eyes gained a dark glimmer, and he gave that smile. "Gustavo learned his mistake."

Gustavo. Hm. I guess that Gustavo had been the guy with the goatee. Oh well, I thought, mentally shrugging my shoulders. Rather it be him in the body bag than me.

I must've spaced out longer than I thought, because that smile was gone , and Feliciano placed the frown back on his face. "I don't trust any of you with this assignment. You all have proven that none of you can handle this with a professional air." The smile returned. "So, I hired someone new. Just think of him as your manager."

I'm sure that everyone's reactions were different, but they had to have been drowned out by my yell. "What? You hired someone?"

Feliciano turned to me, eyes closing momentarily and that dopey smile plastered on his face. "Ve~ I apologize fratello. You were so caught up with your healing that I forgot to give you all the details. And no worries," he added as he took out his phone and started texting on it. "He may be on a higher level than all these other dum-dums, but you're still above him."

A knock sounded from the other side of the door. Feliciano gave a toothy grin, eyes back open and shining with a different light. "Wonderful! Hey you," he snapped to some bald guy. "Open the door for our newest family member."

With hesitant movements, the lackey opened up the door, revealing the outline of the person. I squinted, not able to see the more noticeable features due to the light behind the person, the dim lights in the room, and the fact that my seat was next to the farthest away from the door. The person moved closer, taking small yet even steps towards Feliciano. My eyes opened once I realized what kind of person this way, and before I could open my mouth to demand answers…

"Konnichiwa," he spoke with a soft tone. Midnight black hair framed his face, and brown eyes showed no emotion whatsoever. "My name is Kiku Honda."

Chigi. Not even twelve seconds and I already got the creeps from this guy.

"Ve~ Isn't he wonderful fratello?" Feliciano asked, clapping his hands and (at that moment) oblivious to the discomfort of everyone else in the room.

I did my best to stare with a blank expression of my own. "…You hired some Chinese guy?"

"I am not Chinese," Kiku stated with a dull, expressionless voice. "I am Japanese."

My left eye twitched. "How the hell did you find a Japanese guy in Italy?"

"Never mind," Feliciano stated, cutting off whatever answer Kiku was going to say. Kiku sighed, allowing my brother to postpone the story. Returning to address everyone else, Feliciano returned to the earlier talk. "Kiku here is in charge of anything and everything electronic. You will be speaking with him over the phone once you have been assigned a task of some sorts. Kiku will also be in charge of finding out the answers you all so clearly couldn't discover, and will be given the power to order you if it fits to his needs. I suggest you all start getting used to the idea. You are dismissed."

Chairs scraped against the floor as people exited the room. Kiku approached my brother and whispered in his ear. I couldn't catch what he said, but it made Feliciano shake his head before dismissing the Japanese man. Kiku bowed, then left the room in a silent manner.

I blinked. What was that all about?

"Ve~ Fratello, isn't this wonderful?" Feliciano clapped his hands again, all demonic glee gone from his body.

No. No it wasn't. "Sure," I replied through gritted teeth. "I still don't know where you got him, though."

He giggled. "Nevermind~" he threw back with a mysterious air. My brother then sobered out of his happy mood, facial features looking like those of a troubled teen. "Um, Lovino?"

I sat straight up, giving Feliciano my full attention while my heart thudded inside of my chest. I flashbacked to the last time he used my actual name and unconsciously gripped my shoulder with my other hand. "What do you want, idiot?" I rasped, not looking forward to whatever it seemed to make him hesitant.

Although he tried to hide it, I saw Feliciano flinch. "You're not in trouble!" he assured me, some hurt still visible in his eyes. "I just wanted to…ask you something."

That's what happened the last time. I bit my tongue, managing to keep that thought from spilling out of my mouth. He felt sorry; I lied to cover up my lie. We both needed to let it go. "Well then hurry it up. I don't have all day, you know."

Amber eyes brightening back up, Feliciano still held an air of nervousness. "Well, fratello, I just wanted to ask…" He wrung his hands together, nervous. "I know that you don't like Ludwig that much-"

"At all."

"Okay, at all. And I know that you don't want me to be around him because you're scared that he might harm me in some manner. I thought that maybe I'd get to know him a bit better and that maybe he could warm up to me. However, after a while, I would like to fully introduce you to him. I'm sure that you never told him your name when you went down to see him," he added, nervousness replaced by amusement.

"But-"

"Please, fratello?" Then he gave me the puppy eyes, screwing me over for any negative response I could've come up with. Naturally, he took that as a yes. "Ve~ Thank you so much, fratello!" He gave me a slight wave before bolting out of the room, yelling, "Kiku! Kiku!"

I stayed in my seat, thoughts turning themselves in my head. Feliciano doesn't know that I lied to him about my lie, so now he thinks I warned the German mechanic to protect my brother instead of warning the mechanic to protect himself from my brother. Feliciano asked that I be introduced later to said man that I decided to protect. I have to hate the German man to give the impression that I hate him instead of trying to scare him away.

…I leaned back in my seat and groaned. What a fucked up situation I've gotten myself into.


	7. Chapter Six

It was eight days between Feliciano almost killing me and Feliciano introducing Kiku to the Vargas family. Another five went by before the doctor removed the stitches from my left shoulder, giving me a piece of paper with strict instructions on how to care for myself for the next few days. I decided to give the Earth a break and threw the now-crumpled paper into the recycling bin instead of the trash.

Walking out of the doctor's office, I stopped in my tracks. There stood the Japanese guy who gave me a blank stare. Parked behind him was a brand new Ferrari the color of a tomato. I walked towards the car at a slow pace, praying to God that this wasn't a dream.

Kiku proved it to be a reality when he produced a set of keys and dangled them in front of my eyes. "A present from Feliciano-kun," was all he said on the matter.

I scowled at him (though I squealed in delight on the inside) and snatched the keys from him. "Whatever." I opened the door and got in only to hear the other door open too. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I snapped as Kiku stepped inside my car and put on the seatbelt.

Still wearing his signature creepy-assed blank look, Kiku said, "I am the one who drove your car here, Vargas-san. You will need to drive me back."

Why did that sound like a command? "Whatever," I scoffed, forgoing putting on my own seatbelt and immediately driving away at a faster rate than what was necessary.

Chigi. I almost forgot what it was like to drive a Ferrari. Adrenaline pumped through me as I made sharp turns, sped past stop signs, and went at a dangerous speed down the road. The way Kiku grasped onto his seat for dear life helped make my mood better.

"Vargas-san, could you please-" An intake of breath as I swerved to avoid hitting a geezer. "-please slow down? I do not want to explain to Feliciano-kun why you are in the hospital following your recovery."

I tore my eyes off the road (adding to Kiku's fear and to my inner amusement) to give him a glare. "Are you saying I don't know how to drive?"

Kiku held his breath as we merged with traffic and narrowly missed colliding into two cars. "I do not want to seem worrisome. However…"

"…Don't make me call you a bastard, you bastard."

"Vargas-san, please! Keep your eyes on the road," he pleaded, finally showing some emotion in those eyes of his. I rolled my hazel eyes at his overreaction before gluing them back onto the road. "Once Feliciano-kun returns-"

" 'Returns'? I thought Feliciano said he wasn't going anywhere?"

Kiku remained silent at my question. In this business, silence always meant having a secret. So then, that left me to figure out where Feliciano might've flown off to. First off, the fact that Feliciano forgot that he told me that he would stay home would have to mean that he left to go somewhere that excited him. He had to have told Kiku not to tell me the location that Feliciano was going to, so Feliciano didn't want me to know where, exactly, he was going. Mentally I went through all the conversations the two of us had, and how Feliciano reacted when…

"Dammit!" I slammed on the brakes, surprising Kiku (as well as the drivers behind me) to my sudden stop.

"Vargas-san!" Kiku managed to choke out after the many near misses from other cars. As they drove by screaming obscenities and flipping us off, the little Japanese rat continued to annoy me by speaking. "You cannot just stop in the middle of the street!" He made a surprised noise as I made a U-turn angering even more drivers.

Whatever words he spouted out of that mouth of his never reached my ears. Feliciano's made a plan, but he's kept me out of the loop. I know he wants to "befriend" the mechanic, and that's why he's been seeing the man. However, if Feliciano had gone over to visit the German he would've told me. The guaranteed fact that Feliciano's new grunt knew what Feliciano was planning screamed that Feliciano wanted the German for something else.

Goddammit! If I only had more to run on!

The streets became a bit familiar, and my car screeched to a halt across from the auto shop. I stepped out of my car and slammed the door shut, stalking towards the auto shop garage doors. I barely heard the footsteps follow behind me over my heartbeat, but all my concentration was aimed towards the voices I heard in the back.

I turned the corner and found my brother, laughing at whatever the hell he found funny. The blonde-haired German was bent over the front side of the car, an annoying squeaking noise filling the air as he attempted to fix some part of the engine. Although it looked as though he were irritated with whatever Feliciano was laughing at, I saw the half grin on his face.

Shit. My brother's progressed further in the past few weeks than what I thought.

Still laughing, Feliciano turned away from the German towards the open garage door for whatever reason. His laughter immediately stopped once he spotted me. "Fratello! What are you doing here?"

Before I could reply, Kiku came up beside me, slightly panting. "Forgive me, Feliciano-kun," he gasped, hands on knees. "He seemed to figure out where you were."

"I'm not that stupid, bastard," I snapped, my irritation of the man growing with each second of his existence. Turning my attention back onto my brother, I growled, "Imagine my surprise when I start the drive home that I find out that the brother who's supposed to remain at home is sneaking out behind my back."

"Ve~ Fratello, please don't be mad," Feliciano pleaded, tears located at the corners of his closed eyes. "I just wanted to see Ludwig," he sniffled.

"Why shouldn't I?" I spat back, not buying his act.

"Erm, excuse me…" All heads turned to the German man, looking awkward from all the yelling that seemed to be due to him.

The dopey smile that had been on Feliciano's face returned once the German mechanic spoke. "Oh! That's right! You haven't been properly introduced to my fratello yet." In a flash, he grabbed my wrist, giving it a warning squeeze before dragging me over to the German.

"Ve~ Hey Ludwig! This is my fratello Lovino. You've met him a few weeks earlier when he tried to scare you away from me."

"Is that what he did," I heard the German mechanic mutter under his breath. He scoffed to himself, then said in a louder voice, "I am Ludwig Beilschmidt. A pleasure." His sky blue eyes scrutinized me.

Not really paying attention to the look that his "friend" gave me, Feliciano continued with his story. "Although we're almost identical twins, Lovino is the older of the two of us. He also has a problem with people, but he really is a cheerful person." Feliciano then turned to me, his face still as brilliant as the sun. "Lovino, say hi to Ludwig!"

Feliciano reached out and squeezed my arm again, reminding me that I should play nice with his toys. That, though, was my problem. Feliciano's plan seemed to be coming along, and I can't just scream "Get the fuck away from my brother if you value your life!" without tipping Feliciano off that I am, indeed, trying to keep this normal man away from Feliciano's abnormal, bloody, scary-as-hell life. How do you try to appear like you're scaring him away without actually admitting to why you're trying to scare him away?

Well, fine then. I'll have to figure something out later. For now, I'll just have to pretend to be a jerk towards this German.

"Suck my balls you damn potato eater," I sneered before flipping him off with both of my hands.

"Fratello!" Feliciano gasped, appalled by my actions. The studly mechanic next to Feliciano let out a choked sound. Before he could get another word out, I dragged Feliciano's scrawny ass out of the shop and away from…Ludwig. He managed to throw a "I'll call you!" to the mechanic before I chucked him into the passenger seat of the car (Kiku barely managing to get inside, too). I opened my car door and plopped myself into the driver's seat, slammed the door, and started to drive the three of us home.

One look back in the mirror showed Ludwig watching us as we got farther and farther away.


	8. Chapter Seven

Saying that the drive back to the Vargas mansion oozed awkwardness would've been an understatement. No one spoke the entire ride there. The Asian bastard sitting in the backseat tried to make himself as comfortable as he possibly could (though sometimes I heard the sounds of a body crashing into the car walls and gasps of horror being exhaled at sharp turns).

I drove on instinct, not really seeing the roads and cars. My gut told me that Feliciano had another plan in mind besides befriending Lud-er, the potato bastard.

(If I really wanted to convince Feliciano that I didn't like the mechanic, I needed to quit calling the German mechanic by his first name and get on the mindset that the German was just a potato-eating bastard and not a person.)

I still felt uneasy around Feliciano. I should know what goes on in that thick head of his since I am his older brother. Unfortunately, for the first time in my life, I still didn't know what he wanted. Was Ludwig (the potato bastard) really worth the effort? Did Ludwig (the potato bastard, dammit, the potato bastard!) have any skills other than knowing around an engine? Chigi! How fucking frustrating!

Sometimes out of the corner of my eye I noticed Feliciano giving me a look of quiet analysis. I wondered if he had been trying to read what was going on inside my head as much as I tried to read his. I managed to keep a blank facial expression.

Finally we arrived at the Vargas mansion, putting an end to the unnerving silence. I pressed the buzzer at the gate, snapped a few curses at the ass-headed gate attendant who probably got his diploma at Dumbass High, and drove my new Ferrari into the multiple car garage once the gate had opened.

Feliciano and I stepped out of the car in a calm manner. Kiku jumped out as fast as he could, bending over once he was out and placing a hand over his heart. "Ve~ Kiku, you don't look so well," Feliciano commented, a concerned frown on his face as he examined the pale tech expert.

Gasping for breath, Kiku tried to voice his well-being (or his "concern" towards my driving, the bastard), but I never let him have the opportunity. "Feliciano," I stated coolly, "we need to talk."

The next thing I knew, Feliciano had flung himself into my arms, the tears that rolled down his face being absorbed by my expensive, irreplaceable suit. "I'm sorry fratello!" he sobbed into my shoulder. "I know that I should've informed you that I would be at Ludwig's but I know you hate him and I didn't want you to put a bullet between his eyes!"

I kept my body stiff. I had the feeling that this was his woe-is-me-I-am-pitiful-and-sorry act that's killed many a man. We both knew that I couldn't do anything to (…the potato bastard) without his say-so. I decided that the safest course of action would be to just play along, so I patted his elbow with the part of me that I could move in his grip.

"It's fine," I muttered, not sounding that convincing even to my own ears. "I just don't want you to be by yourself without any guards."

"Ve~!" Tears gone in a flash and a satisfied smile plastered on his face, Feliciano released me and stepped away. "I'm glad that we settled all of that. And no worries fratello," he added, giving a nod in Kiku's direction. "If you want someone to go with me, I'll just take Kiku."

…Kiku?

Kiku?!

I opened my mouth, seconds away from spewing out curses and demands for an explanation until I remembered that I'm supposed to hate his new "friend" and not care. I snapped my mouth shut.

Feliciano's smile only grew as he saw my "acceptance" of the matter. "Ve~ Fratello, I'm hungry. We should have the chef cook pasta! He can cook it up and bring it to us in my room…" Feliciano, Kiku, and I walked down the multiple hallways that led to my brother's room. Feliciano continued to babble on about pasta and Kiku, who had gotten over his "death-defying experience" and replaced his fearful look with his blank, calm one, followed behind Feliciano like a shadow. I remained silent, nodding in the right places of my brother's food talk.

It was when we reached Feliciano's bedroom door that the topic became more serious.

"We haven't heard from Natalia for a while," Feliciano commented. I opened the door and waited for him and Kiku to enter before I entered myself. Once I closed the door Feliciano continued on. "I wonder why that is?"

Kiku took it as his time to speak. "You were right to be concerned Feliciano-kun. Arlovskaya-san is planning a marriage."

Feliciano sat down on his bed, the mattress dipping down from the sudden weight. He entwined his fingers together and rested his head on top, amber eyes giving Kiku full attention. I leaned against a wall near Feliciano and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Natalia is planning marriage?" Feliciano asked, dark curiosity and intrigue mixed together in his voice. "I never thought of her to be the type to settle."

"She must want some psycho babies," I muttered, an image of tiny Belarusian children running around with knives. Apparently the existence of one Natalia wasn't enough.

"Arlovskaya-san has been attempting to woo a Russian man named Ivan Braginski," Kiku continued, his brown eyes never revealing his thoughts. "This Braginski-san has fended off all attempts made by Arlovskaya-san and has even filed for a restraining order."

"Natalia won't let a little thing like a piece of paper stop her," Feliciano commented. "Do you know anything about this Ivan?"

Kiku shook his head. "Arlovskaya-san has run him out of many houses and jobs. I'm attempting to sort through any available information about him."

Feliciano gave Kiku a closed-eyed smile. "Ve~ Fantastic work Kiku! Once you find out more about Signore Ivan, come find me and we'll devise a plan, si?"

Kiku bowed to Feliciano, then left the room. Feliciano leaned back onto his bed, letting his legs dangle off the edge. He glanced over in my direction, a dopey smile on his face. "Ve~ Everything is so wonderful right now! It'll be soooo much fun to meet Signore Ivan. And fratello must be bored out of his mind with having only paperwork to do."

"I've managed." Boring was good. Boring meant very few deaths. Boring meant not as much on my conscious. At that moment I became determined to choke out a few details about my brother's plans. "Now, about this arrangement you have with your mechanic friend…"

I wasn't able to say anything else, for Feliciano's cell phone started to ring. Pulling out his phone, Feliciano glanced at the screen then smiled as he saw who it was on the other end. "Ve~" Accepting the call, Feliciano sat up and placed the phone to his ear. "Ludwig! Pronto!"

I swallowed down my frustration, annoyed as hell at how something always got in my way. Feliciano threw a none-too-innocent grin towards me, almost as though he knew. "Ve~ I apologize for running out on you like that, but my fratello needed me for something." A pause and a tilt of his head. "Hm? You want me to come down so you can teach me self-defense? Is Ludwig worried about my safety?"

Even from my distance I could hear the sputtering spouting out from (the potato bastard). Feliciano giggled. "Silly Ludwig. I was just teasing~." Grinning even wider, he continued on. "Okay, I'll be bringing Kiku down with me and-hm?" Something (the potato bastard) said made Feliciano frown. "…Why?" Another pause. Whatever the response was caused Feliciano's amber eyes to narrow in slight anger. "Okay then," he replied with reluctance, faking cheerfulness in his voice. "We'll be there Saturday. Ciao!" Feliciano hung up before placing the phone back in its original pants pocket. Then his amber eyes stared straight at me.

Tensing, I snapped out a "What?" I knew the difference in his stares, and this one told me that, yes, he was a bit angry with whatever (the potato bastard) said.

"Ludwig wants to teach me self-defense because he's worried that anyone could drag me away and I wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight." Yeah, right. Feliciano could snap the arm of a guy three times his size.

"I understood that part-"

"And he wants you to come too," Feliciano added at the same time.

I stopped with whatever else I would've said, shocked. "Why the fuck would he do that?" I shrieked.

Feliciano continued to give me his angry stare. "He's worried about you, too."

Chigi. I called him names, threatened him, and made rude gestures so that, according to plan, he would pick up the vibes that I hated him. I guess that he's not that scared of me. I couldn't even give a half-assed response, still too shocked that I was invited along.

"…Fratello, would you leave?"

"Okay," I agreed, my voice a bit weak. I walked to the door, muttering my goodbyes to Feliciano. Once I shut him away from the world, I went down the hallway, going towards my own room at a speed that would be considered a slow jog.

Ludwig (the fucking potato bastard) wanted me to come? Even with how rude I was to him? Why would he be so worried about me? I could take care of myself, dammit! However, I continued to ponder any reason that would remotely make sense as to why he would want me to come.

Even as I reached my room, I couldn't think of any logical reason.


	9. Chapter Eight

The time leading up to Saturday was frightening.

Feliciano stayed holed up in his master bedroom, using Kiku as a messenger boy. The few times he did exit the room he snapped orders at others. The rare moments I was in the same room and made eye contact with him, Feliciano had that funny face on and left the room as quickly as he could.

I'm not a fucking moron. He's upset about me getting invited by his bastard friend. I'm just as annoyed (and I convinced myself that the warm, fluttery feeling in my chest was annoyance) as him about this inconvenience. Having one of our businesses suffer a surprise attack by Natalia for a reason we couldn't understand didn't help the mood at all. Saturday couldn't have come any sooner with all the tension in the house.

I had to prepare for my next act of hating Ludwig and had successfully started to replace his name with "the potato bastard". After all, I needed to convince my brother that I really did go to the mechanic's shop to warn him away from me in order to make my long-term plan successful. I, however, didn't fake the hate for the training clothes and I'm sure Feliciano hated his own training outfit, too.

Kiku, wearing his own ridiculous training outfit, tried to weasel himself into driving my Ferrari, but I pulled out a gun and told him to fuck the hell off. Feliciano opened the passenger door and seated himself before he gave Kiku an order to stand down and just get into the backseat. Muttering under his breath something that sounded like a prayer, Kiku opened the door and stepped inside.

I didn't bother with a seatbelt and just belted out of the driveway. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave this dumb day behind us," I muttered, jerking the car wheel to make a sharp turn.

Feliciano glanced out of the corner of his amber eyes. "You…really don't want to do this?"

I snorted with disdain. "No duh, idiot! Why the hell are we even going for fucking training? And he thinks he knows all about us after a few meetings…"

The sulking mood Feliciano had been in evaporated, and a happy smile radiated off of his face. "Ve~ Fratello, you shouldn't be so rude!"

The rest of the ride consisted of Feliciano filling the air with babble about the potato bastard. I glanced in my mirror to check on Kiku and saw his eyes closed. I hit a bit of a curb and he gasped, brown eyes flying open for a few moments before slamming closed again.

Once the mechanic shop came into view, Feliciano started jumping up and down in his seat from excitement. I barely stopped the car before an angry German bastard marched out the doors of his shop. The "Feliciano!" that bellowed out of his mouth hurt my ears from where I was at.

Exiting the vehicle, Feliciano "ve~" 'd before giving the potato bastard a harmless smile. "Ludwig! I'm so happy to-"

"Feliciano," the bastard growled as he closed the distance between himself and my brother, "I told you to be here at two. You're fifty minutes late!"

Feliciano shrieked before he cowered (yes, the head of the Vargas family cowered) away from the potato bastard's fury. "Ah! I'm sorry Ludwig! I just wanted to come prepared for training!"

The potato bastard took one long look at my brother (now sobbing those tears of his) and let out a long, irritated yet affectionate sigh. "Make sure this does not become a habit," he replied in a stern voice.

Feliciano perked up, tears disappearing almost immediately. "Ve~ I'll do my best!"

The potato bastard looked at him for a long time before glancing at Kiku and me for a brief second. Turning around he said, "There is a park located not far from here. That will be a good place to start."

O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"Feliciano! Hurry up!"

I huffed as my nap under the sun was interrupted by the angry German yet again. The potato bastard had decided that we should all warm up by running a lap around the park. I flipped him off before turning away and sat underneath a tree.

Opening my hazel eyes, I looked at the scene a small distance away from me. Feliciano had been running like a dying old person, and the potato bastard had started jogging backwards to yell at Feliciano (again). Although they were a decent distance away from where I was resting, the potato bastard said something to my brother that caused Feliciano to shriek and run off at an insane pace. "Feliciano!" the bastard yelled as my brother sped off. The bastard tried to catch up to him, but gave up after a few moments. Kiku approached the mechanic, spoke, then bowed and chased off after Feliciano.

Bored with the lack of entertainment, I closed my eyes. The sound of someone approaching me snapped me back to attentiveness. "Your brother is a good runner once motivated," the blonde potato informed me.

"I find it funny how you think I give a shit about what you say."

A vein appeared on his forehead, and he brought up his thumb and pointer finger to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I'm only trying to help," he explained through gritted teeth.

"Do yourself a favor and help yourself," I bit back. "Feliciano may be excited with 'training'," I mocked, "but I'm sure as hell not. Why the fuck did you invite me along?"

He opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by a tackle-hug from my brother, now back from his crazy sprint. "Ve~ Ludwig," Feliciano mewled as Kiku caught up to his boss, "did you see how fast I ran?"

The potato bastard huffed in frustration. "Ja, Feliciano. I did."

Feliciano looked over to me with closed eyes. "Did fratello enjoy his siesta time?" He ignored my glare and instead turned his attention back onto the potato bastard. "Ve~ Ludwig, we've been at this for such a long time. I'm tired!"

The potato bastard's right eye twitched. "Feliciano-kun," Kiku said in that quiet, calm voice of his. "We have only been running for thirty minutes."

"Who fucking cares?" I got up from my spot on the ground and cross my arms. "This is a waste of time. I'm leaving."

The potato bastard cursed under his breath in what I assumed to be German. "I really am worried about how easy it could be for someone to drag you away," he muttered.

Kiku glanced at Feliciano who, in turn, gave Kiku a slight nod. "Beilschmidt-san, maybe it would be best if you arranged a day for you and Feliciano-kun to discuss how to handle this situation. Perhaps over a meal?"

…Did he actually suggest that? No, I thought as I threw a smoldering look over to Feliciano. I think I know where he got that idea.

The potato bastard looked as surprised as I felt. "Ve~ What a wonderful idea!" Feliciano sang before the potato bastard could comment. "I would love a dinner!"

It looked as though the potato bastard counted to ten before answering. "Feliciano-"

"I would love pasta."

"I don't-"

"And I would love to get together sometime next week."

"That's short-"

"I think Tuesday would be a good day for the supper. Not too far away-"

"Stoppen!"

Kiku and I had been watching this one-sided conversation between my brother and the potato bastard from the sidelines. The angry shout startled the shit out of me (and that damned Asian bastard just blinked his empty brown eyes as if he had been expecting the frustrated shout).

Feliciano had a frown on his face and didn't act as though he was too surprised at the outburst. "But, Ludwig, we should discuss this sooner rather than later. Besides," he added with a song-like cheerful voice, "I can't focus well on an empty stomach~"

"…Fine," the potato bastard relented, anger dissipating. "Tuesday at six. I'll send you instructions on how to get to my house." He released a sigh and ran a hand through his slicked-back blonde hair, muttering something about a "mein bruder". "Lovino should be present as well. No arguments," he added at my scowl and Feliciano's frown.

Feliciano tried to persuade Ludwig out of the idea by saying, "I don't think fratello would enjoy himself." Ludwig wouldn't budge.

"Feliciano-kun," Kiku whispered after countless minutes of failing persuasion, "let's just go." Even quieter he added, "I can help you think up a way to avoid this situation."

I silently fumed at that statement. "I don't give a fuck about what goes on. I'm leaving!" I got up from my spot on the ground and spun around, stomping towards the general direction of my Ferrari. I heard Feliciano give the potato bastard a "Ciao!" before running to get in front of me, Kiku soon to follow.

"You looked lonely." The three of us spun around to look at the potato bastard, but he had already started leaving.

Feliciano tilted his head towards the left. "Ve~ Was he talking about the first time the two of us met? How nice!" Feliciano continued to walk on, babbling how wonderful his new friend was to remember an event like that. Kiku just nodded, always agreeing with what Feliciano said.

I didn't say anything. Walking to my Ferrari, I ignored that warm feeling in my chest, that feeling of someone noticing me and willing to include me. I still couldn't understand why the potato bastard…why Ludwig wanted me around, but it was nice to finally be included.

I kept that in mind the ride back to the mansion.


	10. Chapter Nine

"Shit!"

I threw the financial papers off of my desk, frustrated about how I couldn't concentrate on my work. The dinner that Ludwig had invited both Feliciano and I to was tomorrow, and I had no idea how the hell it would go.

In all honesty, I worried more about Feliciano's stability. He acted the same way towards me as he did when Ludwig invited me along to Saturday's training, although Feliciano had become a bit sneakier. He had to have been thinking something up with Kiku.

I tapped my pen against my desk, thinking back on Ludwig's parting words. "You looked lonely." The fuck does he think he knows? Stupid bastard can't even pick up on the "run as fast as you fucking can away from Feliciano if you value your freedom, life, or sanity" vibes I've non-so-subtly been hurtling at him. The pen hit the desk faster with each new agitated thought I remembered on Ludwig's cluelessness.

Maybe he does know what you're trying to do, but has a different reason for sticking around.

My hand stopped tapping the pen it had been holding. "You have no idea what you're talking about," I muttered, glaring down at my desktop.

A snort. Hell-fucking-lo? I'm your brain, you idiot!

"I'm happy we cleared that up. Now do your job, brain, and let me concentrate on working on the financials."

Um, no. We need to talk.

"Yeah?" I sneered, gripping the pen harder. "Let's talk about, oh, I don't know, the family finances. Or we could talk about how much I like breathing and not being dead."

The little voice that called itself my brain sighed. Listen, you've attempted to warn Ludwig away several times now with as clear of a voice as you've got. Obviously he's not going anywhere. We need to question the why.

"Ludwig's a moronic German who eats potatoes and who seems to like hanging around Feliciano. There! Question answered. Now I can get back to work." I pushed myself away from the desk and stood up, intending to grab the papers I had pushed off the desk.

He may like Feliciano, yes, my brain agreed, but he's included you in recent activities, too.

I snorted as I collected the papers off the floor. "Physical exercise and food. That must mean Ludwig wants me around," I added with more than a touch of sarcasm.

Go ahead and be as sarcastic as you want. You just don't want to admit that Ludwig has squirmed his way past most of your defenses and seen through your façade, because you don't want to get your hopes up-

"Shut up!" I screeched, chucking the papers up in the air so I had both hands free to grab my head with. I squeezed my hands together and pulled my brown hair while I bent over and closed my eyes. "You don't know anything! Ludwig has only included me due to politeness and to get on Feliciano's good side and nothing more and I hate him hate him hatehimhatehimhatehim!"

Lovino, you can only claim to have heart burn or whatever other ailment so many times before you realize it's happiness you're feeling.

A quietness had settled down, except for the fluttering of a few stray papers that hadn't come down to Earth yet. I gulped in a few breaths, staring at a distant point on the floor. Thump thump, my heart went as it started calming down.

I can't say how much time had passed, but I eventually released my head from a death grip and stood back up. I surveyed the room, seeing the papers scattered randomly around the area. I took in one final breath, and then I scowled. "Brain or not, you still have no idea what you're saying," I ground out between clenched teeth. "I have and always will hate Ludwig, and nothing you say will change me. Now, stop being an ass and let me do my work."

There was a pause before I got an answer. Very well then. Keep hiding behind that smart-asseryness of yours. But let me end this conversation with one last sentence on this subject…

"What?" I snapped.

Somehow my brain gained a sort of smugness to it. You say that you hate Ludwig so much, but somewhere along the way you've started calling him "Ludwig" and not "the potato bastard".

I didn't respond, knowing that what my brain had pointed out to me was true. Instead I picked all the papers back up from the floor for the second time that night, took them to my desk, placed them down, and then sat in my chair. I had to try to concentrate on getting the finances updated.

"You looked lonely."

I groaned, covering my eyes with my hands. Dammit.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"Ve~ Ludwig's home is very pretty."

I gave Feliciano a skeptical look, then glanced back to the house ahead of us. I guess that the house was alright for one or two people to live in, but it wasn't anything fancy. For starters, it was only a ground floor house and had the basic door and window designs. The entire thing was yellow, standing out like a sore thumb. And I'll have to admit, I wasn't expecting a flower garden of all things.

If this was how the outside looked, I wasn't looking forward to seeing the inside.

"Fratello, are you ready?" I snapped away from observing the house and turned my attention onto Feliciano. I opened my mouth to reply, but Feliciano took off, skipping up to the door and ringing the doorbell.

I sighed, glancing in the direction that I last saw Kiku and his car. Too late to turn back, I thought. Remembering the part I put myself in, I simply walked up to my brother, hoping that I looked unenthusiastic and not nervous. Walking up I frowned, noticing that I not only walked forward but forward and slightly up. What…?

Before I could ponder this mystery, the door opened, revealing Ludwig. My eyebrows rose. "I didn't know you owned a classy outfit," I said, getting a scolding "Fratello!" from my brother.

Ludwig wasn't wearing that shit outfit he pieced together last Saturday, and he wasn't wearing those type of clothes that he wore in the garage. Instead he looked like he put in some effort and wore a suit and tie like Feliciano and I normally wore…except his was a much cheaper version.

The German mechanic didn't rise to the bait. Instead he sounded amused when he replied, "I try to avoid wearing my dress outfits when working or exercising. It doesn't do the outfit much good if I get oil stains on it or if I sweat through it."

"Ve~ Ludwig, aren't you going to invite us inside?"

"Ja, ja. Come in."

Feliciano beamed a smile to Ludwig before latching onto the German's arm. I rolled my eyes at my brother's action, then shoved Ludwig out of my way.

The inside of his house matched the simplicity of the outside. No photos hung off the blue walls of the living room. The living room had the basic furniture, also blue, as well as a small bookcase and a television set. The furniture was spread out, and a stray trash can filled with empty cans of beer inhabited one corner of the room. The kitchen rested across the living room, devoid of walls that normally separated the two. The strange thing about the kitchen was how the row of kitchen counters along one wall was at normal height, but the counters along another wall only reached to my knees.

I took a seat in the living room's only cushioned chair while Feliciano commented to Ludwig how the house was just as lovely on the inside as it was on the outside as the two of them headed towards the couch. However, it felt like I didn't have a full picture. The sidewalk, the stray trashcan, the spacing of the furniture, the kitchen…

"I apologize," Ludwig said once he sat down on a couch cushion," but the dinner will not be done for another hour."

Feliciano tilted his head in confusion. "Aw. Why so long?"

Ludwig took in a calming breath. "Family complications."

That shocked me. He had family? The file I put together had all the available information on Ludwig that I could dig up, and I sure as hell knew he didn't have any living parents.

Feliciano perked up upon hearing this surprising bit of news. "Ve~ Ludwig, I didn't know you had family." I could hear the excitement layered underneath Feliciano's cheery voice. Having a relative made great material in getting someone to agree to the Vargas family way.

Fuck. Just when I thought things couldn't get any more complicated…

Bang! "West! I'm back!"

The three of us jumped from where we were sitting at the sudden intrusion. All heads turned towards the source, which had come from the front door.

Ludwig recovered first, eyebrow twitching with what I interpreted to be annoyance. "Gilbert, you told me that you would stay out of the house this evening."

"Kesesese!" An albino man in a wheelchair wheeled himself into the room, a mischievous twinkle in his ruby eyes.

Well, I thought as the puzzle came together. That explains the weirdness of this house.

"But West," the man whined, "I'm hungry, and I knew you'd be cooking."

"I gave you more than enough money to go out and get something to eat."

"Francis, Tony, and I spent the money on alcohol. We needed to have a celebration for Tony, you know!"

"Gilbert-"

"What joy," I stated in a monotone voice. "Another moronic potato bastard."

'Gilbert' seemed to notice that Ludwig wasn't the only presence in the room. "Are these the brothers you mentioned?"

"No shit Sherlock."

"Fratello!" Feliciano focused his attention away from me onto the man in the wheelchair, observing every little detail and placing information away for future reference. "Ve~ Pronto, Mister…?"

"…Gilbert," the albino offered up.

"Gilbert! I'm Feliciano, the person Ludwig saved from the mean, nasty dog in the park. Pleased to meet you!"

"…Ja." Gilbert squinted his eyes at my brother. "How the hell do you see with your eyes closed like that?"

"Bruder! Language, bitte."

"What? The other brother just cursed at me a second ago!" He held up two fingers and wiggled them as if it'd help him in his case. "Twice!"

I stuck my tongue out. "I'm a guest, motherfucker. I can talk as I please."

"Why you-"

Ludwig rubbed his temples with two fingers from each hand. "Lovino, Gilbert, I would appreciate if the two of you attempted to act civil around each other."

"He started it!"

"Gilbert-"

Feliciano sniffed the air. "Ve~ Is the food supposed to smell like that?"

Realizing that something had started to burn, Ludwig jumped off the couch. "Verdammt!" He cursed, making what he tried to lecture earlier ironic in the situation. He then proceeded to rush off into the kitchen, Feliciano following close behind in a joyful manner.

"I guess I forgot to mention that the oven's been acting funny," Gilbert commented as he rolled over to where I was. "We should probably go outside to avoid the smell of burning food."

I gave him a nasty glare. "What makes you think I'd want to go outside with you?"

"Good! I'm glad you agree." While I spat out indignities, Gilbert wheeled himself around to the scene of Ludwig attempting to save whatever the charcoaled things were while reassuring Feliciano that, no, the house would not catch on fire. "Hey West! Feliciano's brother and I are going out for a bit. Take the time to save dinner or make out with your boyfriend there."

"Bruder!" Ludwig sputtered, face turning beet red at such an indinity.

"Kesesese!"

O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"If your brother is Feliciano, that makes you Lovino, ja?"

I rolled my eyes, already annoyed. "Good job with piecing that puzzle together, especially after Ludwig announced who I was a few minutes ago. You must be so proud."

Gilbert threw me a look that told me to stuff it. Since there wasn't really a porch area, Gilbert had locked his wheelchair on the flattest area he could find and I just stood on the sidewalk to avoid getting dirt on my suit.

"Ludwig talks about the two of you a lot, you know. However, I don't think he's ever told me what it is that you two do."

I narrowed my eyes. "Feliciano runs a business."

"Ah! He must be doing a good job at it, with how expensive his suit is." His red eyes clouded up a bit. "I used to run the garage here, before…" Shaking his head and snapping himself out of it, he let that train of thought alone. I had a pretty good idea what it was that stopped him from running his business, however. "Anyway, do you both run this business of yours, or…?"

"I take care of the finances," I muttered, the hair on the back on my neck standing up. I did not like where this was heading.

"So you have some brains then. Kesesese! That's good! Since you seem to have some smarts…" Suddenly the playfulness that had been in his voice left, and a cold tone took over. "…you can come right out and tell me what interest the Vargas family has in mein bruder, ja?"


End file.
